Guthrie leads Illini golf team into Big Ten championships

Wednesday

Apr 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMApr 29, 2009 at 3:50 PM

A junior golf superstar who won the Class 3A state championship by five strokes in the fall of 2007 as a Quincy High School senior, Luke Guthrie showed up at Illinois last fall with a big reputation – and a bad swing.

John Supinie

A junior golf superstar who won the Class 3A state championship by five strokes in the fall of 2007 as a Quincy High School senior, Luke Guthrie showed up at Illinois last fall with a big reputation – and a bad swing.

After climbing to seventh in the American Junior Golf Association Rankings, Guthrie tumbled down the list last summer. By the time he entered Illinois, Guthrie ranked No. 89.

"My swing was in bad shape when I got here,'' Guthrie said. "It was a long summer season. I wasn't the greatest. I worked hard in the fall, and it's paying off in the spring.''

Ranked ninth among Big Ten Conference golfers by the Golfweek/Sagarin ratings, Guthrie plays a key role as Illinois shoots for its first Big Ten title since 1988 at the conference championships Friday through Sunday at Penn State's 7,150-yard Blue Course. After holding down No. 1 for three weeks in the fall according to the Golfstat national computer rankings, Illinois entered the tournament ranked No. 12 by the Golf World/Nike coaches’ poll, two spots behind Indiana.

Illinois won a school-record six tournaments this year, including the last three entered, as Guthrie's game recovered. He's tied for third on the Illini this spring by averaging 73.08 strokes per 18 holes.

"When everybody in the country is recruiting Luke before his senior year, everybody knew he's going to be great,'' said Illinois coach Mike Small. "He came to school not playing well. He didn't play in our first two events and had trouble getting into the lineup. He buckled down and learned a lot of things. He's been a big asset this spring.

"His fundamentals were off. His attack angle and ball flights weren't what we wanted from a player of his stature. He's improved his short game. He's got ‘it.’ He's a good player, and coaches look for the ‘it.’ He's got it. The talent is there.''

With sophomores Scott Langley (third in the Big Ten in Golfweek/Sagarin, 24th nationally) and Chris DeForest (eighth in the Big Ten), the Illini have depth. Junior Zach Barlow won the Illinois state amateur title last summer. Freshman Mason Jacobs, from Metropolis Massac County, became the only Illinois three-time prep state champ but couldn't crack the five-man lineup used for the conference meet.

Illinois won only one Big Ten title since 1941, but the lofty ranking earlier this season hinted that the Illini program was beginning to mature under Small.

"It's old news,'' Small said. "Deep down, these guys realize they can do it and proved they can do it. The question is that you have to do it when the time comes. We're working hard to get a game good enough to where we don't have to play great in be in that (No. 1) position again. The goal is to keep improving to where you don't have to play your best to win.''